Rajasthan crisis: Sachin Pilot skips CLP meeting, Congress MLAs taken to Jaipur’s Fairmount resort

Jaipur, July 13: Buses, carrying 107 Congress MLAs, leave from the residence of Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot to Jaipur's Fairmount resort after the Congress Legislative Party (CLP) meeting concluded. One of the MLAs said, "All is well." meeting inside may be shifted to a hotel.

Gehlot also boarded one of the buses, the report said. The Congress Legislature Party meeting began at the CM's house at 1.30 pm, amid a tussle for power between Gehlot and Deputy Chief Minister Sachin Pilot.

Rajasthan Deputy Chief Minister Sachin Pilot on Sunday declared open rebellion, claiming that the Ashok Gehlot government is in minority now as over 30 Congress MLAs are supporting him.

Some weeks ago, ahead of the Rajya Sabha polls, the Congress had shifted its MLAs to a resort for about a week to ensure that they were not "lured" away before the voting.

Earlier in the day, the Congress had issued a whip to all its MLAs, mandating everyone's presence in the legislative party meeting. The move to test the political waters of Congress in the state comes just four months after the party let Madhya Pradesh slip from its grasp. This has once again underlined the leadership vacuum in the party and how its sense of drift is deepening faultlines within: old versus young, second-generation leaders versus those who rose through the ranks.